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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28246047">To Run Rust-eze</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuTodoroki/pseuds/ShuTodoroki'>ShuTodoroki</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cars (Pixar Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A lot of lines from the movie stay the same, Business, CEO, Capitalism, Cars 3 from Sterling's POV?, Gen, Merchandise, Money, Sterling-centric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:15:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,697</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28246047</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuTodoroki/pseuds/ShuTodoroki</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"To run Rust-eze, you sometimes had to ensure that others knew you meant business." Sterling thinks that Lightning has what it takes to defeat Storm. That is, until he manages to break the simulator he paid for, but Sterling always has a back up plan. However, Lightning isn't happy with it...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>To Run Rust-eze</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sterling watched with a frown from the second floor balcony, as the other Next Gen trainees laughed at Lightning McQueen while on the treadmills. Lightning's treadmill was only going five miles per hour, and he was obviously displeased that Cruz was telling him to take a nap. </p><p>While the owner of Rust-eze appreciated Cruz easing Lightning back into rigorous racing training slowly, this was overkill in his opinion. They were already on day three, and he was sure that Lightning was probably no better off than he was when he came here. </p><p>He'd give it a week, and if Cruz didn't have him on the simulator by that time, he'd tell her to put him on there. They weren't going to beat Storm if they didn't use his training methods, and he was pretty sure that the Next Gen didn't go five miles per hour on the treadmill. </p><p>Apparently, Lightning got coerced by Cruz to take a nap somehow, as he saw that Cruz had turned off the treadmill, and led Lightning out of sight to another part of Rust-eze Racing Center. </p><p>Sterling saw that the Next Gens had finished their training regime on the simulator, and he headed down to the first floor via elevator to confront them. He was not going to have his star racer be made fun of by them. </p><p>They were chuckling together, probably still about Lightning taking a nap, when they saw Sterling, and immediately became serious.</p><p>"Mr. Sterling. How are you doing?" One of them asked politely, named Kurt. </p><p>"Fine, until you three decided to tease Lightning McQueen." He said with a glare. </p><p>They immediately realized that they made a mistake, as they looked at each other warily. "We're sorry. We just, uh…thought it was funny. That Cruz wanted him to take a nap." The one named Ronald tried to explain.</p><p>That did nothing to help their case in Sterling's eyes. "I am trying to ensure that this veteran racer will be successful when he returns to the Piston Cup, and you three lowering his morale isn't helping." </p><p>There was a long silence as the three Next Gen trainees looked ashamed of themselves, until one of them spoke up. "We understand. We won't do it again." The one named Gabriel said. </p><p>Sterling's glare slightly softened, but it was still clear that he was unhappy with the three Next Gen trainees. "You'd better not. You three are trainees. Lightning McQueen is an established professional racer. Know your place." </p><p>With that, he turned around to head to his office. To run Rust-eze, you sometimes had to ensure that others knew you meant business. This was one of those times.</p>
<hr/><p>Finally, it seemed like Lightning had enough, as he made his way over to the simulator. Sterling smiled. This was good. Once they had a baseline as to how Lightning fared on the simulator, they could work up from there. </p><p>Cruz seemed to be trying to tell him to wait on it, but Lightning wasn't listening. Sterling decided to help him out, since he wanted to see what good ol' 95 could do on the new technology of the future. </p><p>"All right, my star racer is on the simulator!" He said over the intercom. </p><p>Lightning looked up at the second floor balcony, where Sterling was. "Why yes I am!" He replied.</p><p>"Well, let's see you take it out for a spin."</p><p>"Right away, Mr. Sterling." Lightning said, before looking at Cruz with a smirk. "Owner of the company." He added.</p><p>Cruz realized that it'd look bad if she went against the owner of Rust-eze's wishes. "Okay. Have fun." </p><p>She looked at two pitties who manned the simulator, and they immediately strapped him onto the simulator platform, which rose into the air. </p><p>Lightning seemed confused as to when to go, before Cruz told him to and he floored it. He immediately had issues, as he bumped into walls on the left and right. </p><p><em>Okay, he's just adjusting to the sensitivity of the simulator. He'll be fine.</em> Sterling told himself. </p><p>Once Lightning managed to control his racing line, he topped out at 185 miles per hour. 22 miles per hour slower than Storm's racing speed. But they could work on that. Right? </p><p>Sterling was obviously mistaken, as things went from bad to worse. Lightning got distracted by telling Cruz he was fine in response to her concern, and he broke through the virtual racing barrier, hitting multiple pitties in pit row, destroying a drinking fountain and disabling an ambulance all in the span of a couple of seconds. He went up a ramp, and crashed into a tank of propane, setting himself on fire in the simulation. </p><p>A frown was on the silver car's face as he turned around to head to his office. He had seen enough to know that there was no adapting Lightning to the simulator. If he was being honest, Lightning was a lost cause. Well, not with his back up plan…</p><p>He had barely traveled for several seconds when all of the lights suddenly went off, and he could see nothing but pitch darkness in front of him. "What the-" He said aloud, turning on his headlights so he could make his way to the ramp to the first floor, where everyone was.</p><p>"Alright, can someone tell me what's going on here?" He asked, once he made his way down the ramp. The single emergency light near the entrance did nothing to help with visibility.</p><p>Everyone pointed to the simulator, which Sterling still couldn't see in the dark. He drove towards the simulator, and soon saw Cruz looking quite despondent in the light of his headlights.</p><p>"Cruz? Why is there a power outage?" He inquired.</p><p>Cruz gestured with a tire at Lightning, his hood sticking out from the back of the simulator. He stirred when Sterling's headlights shone on his hood. "Mr. Sterling? Is that you?" </p><p>"Chrysler…" Sterling knew it was bad, but not this bad. The simulator he paid for was now ruined. <strong>He</strong> paid for it! Wait, no. Deep breaths. He took one. With his back up plan, he'd make up the money for the simulator. He always had one, in case things didn't work out the way he wanted. He was a prepared business car. </p><p>"Yes, it is me, Lightning. We'll get someone to get you out of there." </p><p>"A fuse probably blew when one of the exposed wires emitted sparks." Cruz speculated.</p><p>"Right. Can someone get a technician to check the circuit breakers? Also get someone to free Lightning from the simulator." Sterling ordered, as he turned around to face everyone else from the simulator. </p><p>Once he saw someone go to do what he said, he turned back to Cruz. "My office, once they get the power back on. Understand? Get Lightning to wait outside as well." </p><p>Cruz nodded solemnly. "I understand." </p><p>Sterling headed back to the ramp, trying to navigate his way to his own office using his headlights. This wasn't what he expected when he bought Rust-eze, but he could make light of a bad situation. He could turn this around. </p><p>He manually pushed the doors to his office open because there was no power, and smirked once he saw the Lightning McQueen merchandise he had pre-arranged in case Lightning didn't have what it took to compete with the Next Gens. That way, Rust-eze, himself, and Lightning would profit either way. Everyone's a winner.</p><p>It was perfect.</p>
<hr/><p>15 minutes later, they had managed to get the power back on, and Sterling soon saw a yellow car driving towards his office through the frosted glass doors. </p><p>He put on a warm smile as the doors automatically opened. “Cruz. Come on in.”</p><p>Cruz immediately saw the Lightning McQueen merchandise on both sides of Sterling’s office, and she had an inkling as to what Sterling was doing. “Mr. Sterling? What is this about?”</p><p>“I just wanted to let you know that you will now refocus your efforts on the Next Gen trainees. Lightning McQueen is my responsibility now.” Sterling told Cruz.</p><p>“What happened on the simulator was unfortunate, but it’s just because Lightning wasn’t ready. I was easing him into it. In a week, he would’ve been perfect!” Cruz explained, trying to save Lightning McQueen’s racing career. She couldn’t just give up on him after a few days.</p><p>“Trust me, Cruz, he is too far behind to catch up. I’ve seen enough. With this…” He gestured at the merchandise with a tire. “He and Rust-eze will prosper.”</p><p>“But Lightning wants to race again. He wants to beat Storm.” Cruz insisted.</p><p>“And beating Storm is something that is not attainable for him.” Sterling replied. It was admirable that Cruz was dedicated to helping Lightning achieve his goal, but it was unrealistic.</p><p>“Acclimating to the simulator: It’s not easy for him.”</p><p>Sterling sighed. The maestro of motivation was great. When she wasn’t trying to motivate him to change his mind. “Cruz, just relax.”</p><p>“Give him another chance.” </p><p>“I will talk to him.”</p><p>“I can still work with him.” Cruz asserted. She still wanted to be Lightning’s trainer.</p><p>“I know he’s your project, Cruz, but maybe you should be thinking about what’s best for the company.”</p><p>“Are you sure?”</p><p>“Cruz.” Sterling looked at the trainer seriously. He had made up his mind.</p><p>“Can’t you just-”</p><p>“Cruz, who do you work for?” Sterling asked, wanting to get this over and done with so he could talk to Lightning, who was probably waiting outside his office by now.</p><p>Cruz opened her mouth to say something else in Lightning’s defense, but closed it when she realized that she couldn’t say anything. Sterling called the shots. Not her. “You.”</p><p>Sterling nodded. “Right. Let me handle this, alright?” He gestured towards his office doors with a tire. </p><p>Cruz silently drove off towards his doors. </p><p>“Thank you very much.” Sterling said, just as the doors opened, and Lightning came into view. </p><p>“Uh…good luck.” Cruz told Lightning, before she headed into the elevator back to the ground floor.</p><p>“Hey, Lightning!” Sterling said cheerfully. “Come on in. Got something to show you. You ready?”</p><p>Lightning looked hesitant as he entered his office. “Uh…for what?”</p><p>Sterling just proudly looked at all of the Lightning McQueen merchandise he had acquired for this moment. </p><p>“Wow.” was all that Lightning could say, as he drove alongside the merchandise and looked at it. It was hard to tell what the veteran racer felt at the moment, but Sterling assumed that it was all good things. </p><p>“You are about to become the biggest brand in racing. We are talking saturation on all continents for every demographic. Movie deals, infomercials, product endorsements.”</p><p>“Mudflaps?” Lightning questioned, seemingly unsure of Sterling’s plan for him. </p><p>“Of course! We'll be rich beyond belief. You think you're famous now?” Sterling laughed in glee.</p><p>“I thought you'd be mad about the simulator. I mean, this is all great, Mr. Sterling, I guess, but I don't know. I've never really thought of myself as a brand.” </p><p>Huh, he thought that the idea would be appealing to the veteran racer. Maybe he had to explain it further. “Oh, nor do I. I'm a fan. Maybe your most avid. I think of this as your legacy!”</p><p>Lightning laughed nervously. “It sounds like something that happens after you're done racing.”</p><p>Oh, so he had figured it out. He just looked solemnly at Lightning. He hoped that he could accept what was going to happen. </p><p>“Mr. Sterling, what is this about?” Lightning asked, echoing what Cruz asked several minutes ago.</p><p>“Look, Lightning.” Sterling took a deep breath for what he would tell Lightning. The other car probably wasn’t going to take it well, but he would deal with it as best as he could. “I’m not gonna race you.”</p><p>“What? What do you mean not race me?” Lightning asked, incredulous.</p><p>“Hold on, hold on.” Sterling said, before Lightning could say any more. He would need to explain himself, and that was fine.</p><p>“I’m not going to Florida?”</p><p>“Lightning!” He needed to explain, before the race car could go any further. “You have no idea how excited I was to get you here, because I knew, I <em>knew</em> you'd be back.” </p><p>He paused before he went further. “It was going to be the comeback story of the year! But your speed and performance just aren’t where they need to be. I’m sorry.” He turned around to head back to his desk.</p><p>“We're talking about speed on a simulator! Listen to how crazy that sounds!” Lightning was indignant.</p><p>“Look, I’m trying to help you. As your sponsor, yes, but also as your friend. Your racing days are coming to an end. Every time you lose, you damage yourself.”</p><p>That did nothing to make Lightning feel better, as he glared at his sponsor. “Damage the brand, you mean?”</p><p>“Oh, Lightning, come on. You've done the work. Now move on to the next phase, and reap the reward.” That was how it worked. Once you’ve done the work, you could relax. Why did Lightning want to continue doing this to himself?</p><p>“The racing <em>is</em> the reward. Not the stuff. I don't want to cash in. I want to feel the rush of moving 200 miles an hour, inches from the other guys, pushing myself faster than I thought I could go! That's the reward, Mr. Sterling!” Lightning pleaded, as he inched closer to Sterling.</p><p>Sterling rolled his eyes as he turned around to look at the view. “Oh, Lightning, come on.” </p><p>“Look, I can do this. I can, I promise! I'll train like I did with Doc. I'll get my tires dirty on every dirt track from here to Florida. I can start on Fireball Beach where all the old greats used to race.” Lightning gestured at the view of Fireball Beach for emphasis.</p><p>“Get your tires dirty. That's how you're gonna get faster than Storm?” It didn’t sound very convincing to the CEO. </p><p>“Yes! Exactly! I mean, sacred dirt, right?”</p><p>Sterling still didn’t look convinced, as he stared at Lightning with a deadpan expression.</p><p>“Mr. Sterling, if you care about my legacy, the one that Doc started, you'll let me do this. I promise you, I will win.” Lightning set his left tire down on the ground to emphasize his point.</p><p>“I don't know. What you're asking, it's too risky.” He didn’t like taking risks. Sure, buying Rust-eze was a risk, but that was because he was reasonably confident that there would be a reward in the end. Lightning beating Storm? He wasn’t confident in that. Not at all.</p><p>“Come on. You like it, I can tell. It's got that little ‘comeback story of the year’ feel to it, doesn't it?”</p><p>Maybe using the term “comeback story of the year” was a mistake. A grave one. Sterling let out a deep sigh as he looked back at Fireball Beach again, before looking at Lightning. “One race?”</p><p>Lightning nodded enthusiastically, smiling.</p><p>“If you don't win at Florida, you'll retire?”</p><p>“Look, if I don't win, I'll sell all the mudflaps you got. But if I do win, I decide when I'm done. Deal?” </p><p>Well, that was the guarantee that he needed to make him feel at least somewhat okay about Lightning competing in one last race. He must be quite confident in his abilities to even be making the deal, anyway. “Deal.”</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Sterling. You won’t be sorry.”</p><p>Something told him that he’d be sorry, now that Lightning said that. “Just one thing, and this is only because I don't like taking chances.” He said, just as Lightning was driving out of his office. </p><p>“You’re taking someone with you.”</p><p>Lightning stopped in his tracks. “Huh? Who?”</p><p>“You’ll find out when you get to Fireball Beach tomorrow morning. I’ll send them there.” Sterling told Lightning.</p><p>“Oh. Uh…okay. Thank you Mr. Sterling!” Lightning drove off, too excited to question further.</p><p>Sterling got his secretary on the phone once Lightning was gone. “Tell Cruz I want her back up here.”</p><p>“Right away.” </p><p>Sterling hung up as he sighed. He always made decisions based on what was best for his business. He hoped that he wouldn’t regret this one.</p>
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